Sales Promotion and Personal Selling- Would You Buy Me ?

           For Blackberry, selling products has been growing more and more difficult. With consumers evolving, manufacturers like RIM, have to meet those new customers’ needs and continue to have a good relationship with current customers. Through this process, Sales Promotions and Personal Selling definitely come into play here. As costs of Advertising and Marketing rise through high-traffic channels, companies like Blackberry are turning to a more cost effective way to market: Personal Selling.

Because of today’s Blackberry customer, who is more diverse and eclectic than in previous years, new initiatives and promotions must be outfitted differently; Different sales promotions for different buyers. Several programs are effective however; Blackberry only participates in a few. One use of Blackberry’s promotion strategy is their competitor customers approach. With new devices and manufacturers emerging, the company must be on their toes- constantly. The newest devices released were the Blackberry Torch and the new Curve from the series of the same name. A visible implementation of this strategy is seen with their release of the aforementioned models. As promotions were offered for the device, at comparable prices to similar mobile carriers, competitors were on the same level as Blackberry with regards to price-point.

Rebates are another sales promotion Blackberry and Research in Motion offers. Rebates are given after the initial purchase is made and the documents for the rebate, with a valid sales receipt (proof of purchase), is submitted to the rebates department. With these offers, customers can be comforted that their purchase of the device is a good one given the company’s reputation, quality and price.



Referrals are an important selling strategy that Blackberry and other companies rely on. Word-of-mouth marketing is valuable and caused companies like Facebook, and other businesses to gain national and in Facebook’s case, worldwide acclaim. 

Since a majority of Blackberries devices are sold through third party distributors or retailers, Blackberry’s follow-up is done through these parties. When a sale is made through T-mobile for instance, Blackberry may receive the data and information of the customer and the sale itself however, T-mobile deals direct to the customer and thus removing Blackberry or Research In Motion from its involvement in following up with the customer.

Maybe-just maybe- Blackberry get more involved in the selling process. I don’t think removing retailers who “push” their devices and produces should be eliminated, but as a Blackberry owner myself, it’d be nice to share my thoughts about issues or products should I feel inclined to do so. Remove the middle man from the customer service side of things and Blackberry could strengthen its efforts when creating sales promotions and engaging in personal selling. 

Advertising and PR - Blackberry and Beyond

Be Bold. Blackberry. Love what you do on BBM. Being innovative and creative in a company’s approach to consumers is essential for the marketer. The problem is what sells? What captivates and educates the consumer in little time? The fact is in today’s world we, the marketer, have a few seconds to catch someone’s eye or ear and generate interest for a product, service, or brand. Blackberry, has been pouring millions into its advertising and marketing campaigns and has broadened its reach over the past couple of years.

With competitors itching toward leadership in market share, a brand must keep up with the Joneses’ in their advertising initiatives. Until recently, Blackberry was word-of-mouth marketing that started in business offices around the globe and eventually filtered down to the everyday mobile device consumer. No longer can companies count on a word-of-mouth initiative with new products and developments. In order for our market share to be as high as or higher than the competition, we must reach out.

Apple had great success at the beginning of the 21^st century by engaging consumers with bright, fun, and innovative advertisements that generated interest and revenue almost immediately. Blackberry recently did this with the new Curve series and now, the new Blackberry Torch. BBM, or Blackberry Messenger, is a utility unique to devices that enables the user to send unlimited messages of any length to other Blackberry Messenger “buddies”. This gives the owner privacy, efficiency, and other features at lightning-fast speed on the network. This campaign has been quite successful and the use of BBM in media such as television and movies has been an advertising campaign in itself. The Bravo television show “NYC Prep” consistently used the term, “BBM” throughout its season. CW’s “Gossip Girl” also drops the Blackberry Messenger utility as an event for the opposite user: “BBM me.”

          With the release of the new Blackberry Torch, the company is currently using a continuous media schedule and engaging in new product publicity. Media is seen everywhere; especially in the advertising capital of the world- New York. Billboards, subway advertisements, and print all have the brand splattered about in them and momentum is strong.

The fact is the smarter the consumer gets, the smarter we as markets must be to meet their needs and wants. Deciphering the means to which potential customers receive these “signs” is a large undertaking-one that requires research, persistence, and a great amount of risk. To quote one of my favorite shows, “Advertising is based on one thing: Happiness.”